Volume XWII, Issue 23
Educating Women To Excel
April 6, 2005
ON THE
INSIDE:
FMLA
event
Page
2
Disabilities
Panel
Page
3
Student
profile
Page
4
Diversity
Column
Page
5
Movie
Review
Page
7
Classifieds
Page
8
Tide of Hope: Trip to Sri Lanka
WEDNESDAY
Partly Cloudy
High 807 Low 59
THURSDAY
Thunderstorms
High 72/Low 56
FRIDAY
Isolated Thunderstorms
High 70/ Low 49
SATURDAY
Showers
High 64/ Low 45
SUNDAY
Partly Cloudy
High 667 Low 44
MONDAY
Mostly Sunny
High 70/Low 45
TUESDAY
M .
High 65? Low
Mostly Cloudy
Lacey Maddrey
Staff Writer
In Sri Lanka, Dr. Betty
Webb received a phone call
at midnight on Easter Mon
day warning of a possible
tsunami. The possibility of
another tsunami was caused
by the massive 8.7 magnitude
earthquake that occurred off
the coast of Sumatra, Indo
nesia earlier in the evening.
One can imagine the fear of
Webb and the other Meredith
faculty, staff, and students as
they watched tsunami warn
ings flash across the televi
sion screen from their hotel
in Sri Lanka. Their worry,
however, was not for their
own safety, but for the Sri
Lankans they recently met
who are still reeling from
the repercussions of the
December 26 tsunami. At
3:00 a.m. the alert expired,
and there was no indica
tion that a tsunami was on
the way. The group and lo
cals alike were indeed safe.
On March 22, seven
members of the Meredith
community flew around the
world, a total of thirty hours,
to reach out to Sri Lankans
Left to Right; Laura Williams, John Rose, Betty Webb,
Kenyon, Rebekah Meek, Kelly Jones
Meek and Kelly Jones,
Photo courtesy of Mereditti.edu
Rosalind Reichard, Gall
recovering from the massive
tsunami that wrecked their
lives and homes just three
months ago. The group vis
ited Colombo and Galle (an
area hit very hard by the di
saster), each pursuing tasks
of their individual interests.
Among the members of the
group were Rosalind Reich
ard, Vice President for Aca
demic Affairs, faculty mem
bers Betty Webb and Gail
Kenyon, students Rebekah
Photo courtesy of Meredith.edu
Travelers prepare to board the van to the airport.
alumna Laura Williams, and
advisorto Meredith’s Tide of
Hope committee and Betty
Webb’s husband, John Rose.
This is the second trip
to Sri Lanka in six months
for Rose and Webb. The
couple was staying in Sri
Lanka when the tsunami hit
in December and both were
eager to get back to see the
country and provide help in
any way they could. Tony
Andrady, President of the
North Carolina Sri Lankan
Friendship Association, also
accompanied the Meredith
group on their travels. An-
drady worked with Webb
to find projects in which
Meredith and local com
munities can get involved in
and to help form a partner
ship with a university there.
The group visited an ar
ray of places in Colombo
and Galle including refu
gee camps, schools, an or
phanage, Parliament, and
memorial services marking
the three month anniversary
of the disaster. While each
member of the group had spe
cific interests, all were faced
with heart wrenching stories
of survivors at every turn.
Rosalind Reichard was in
terested in learning about the
Sri Lankan culture in hopes
of connecting Meredith Col
lege with a local educational
institution in order to devel
op more relief efforts. Gail
Kenyon, assistant professor
of social work, intended
to use the opportunity to
learn about child welfare
issues in the area. Like the
rest of the group, Kenyon
also hoped to find ideas
about additional projects in
which Meredith can partake
in to support the victims.
Senior Kelly Jones, a
communications major,
conducted research for her
thesis, which deals with the
relationship between nature
and human beings as well
as the Sri Lankans’ post-tsu-
nami perceptions of nature.
Jones says the information
gathered from this experi-
CONTINUED
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